Wolcott Consumer Has Bone To Pick With Boost Mobile

Many Connecticut customers of Boost Mobile – a division of Sprint – love their $55 monthly plan that gives them unlimited use of the phone for talking, texting and the Internet without having to sign a contract.

Elaine Lewandoski of Wolcott is not one of them.

She purchased a Samsung LG Venice phone from a Best Buy store, and after making sure that her home area was included in Boost Mobile’s coverage map, she signed up for their service.

“I was really excited,” Lewandoski said of her August purchase. “It was my first smart phone.”

That excitement evaporated when she got home and discovered that she could not get a signal.

“When I brought the phone home I did not have phone reception and could not make or receive calls; there were no bars showing on the phone, indicating no reception. I went outside and walked around the yard with the phone- same story. I called the tech support of Boost Mobile that evening and talked first to Rob in the Philippines who was unable to get the phone to work despite assuring me that I indeed should have coverage based on the map,” she said adding that she even took the phone apart as she had been instructed.

The next day she was visiting a friend’s home in Southington and found that her phone worked just fine there.

Then she and her friend – who also has Boost Mobile service – went to Lewandoski’s house and neither phone worked.

She immediately took her phone back to Best Buy where they gave her a refund.

“They were just wonderful at Best Buy,” she said.

However, when she contacted Boost Mobile, the company refused to refund the $55 payment she had made, insisting that there was something wrong with her phone, not with their coverage.

It was at that point that Lewandoski contacted CtWatchdog for assistance.

I told her the first thing she needed to do is to dispute the charge with Discover, whose credit card she used to pay for the first month’s service.

Next I suggested that she file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and I told her I would contact Sprint.

Sprint did not respond to my inquiry, but one of its officials did respond to the BBB complaint.

“We are pleased to inform you that Ms. Lewandoski’s issue has been address,” wrote Cynthia Cooper, an executive services analyst, to the BBB.

And how was it addressed?

Refund denied.

“We spoke with Ms. Lewandoski on September 24, 2013. We explained that as her service address is within coverage, in accordance with our Terms and Conditions of service, we are unable to refund charges for unused portions of service. Therefore, we must respectfully deny her request,” Cooper wrote to the BBB.

Challenging the bill with Discover was not helpful either. Discover put a hold on the charge for a month and then released it after Sprint insisted that the charge was legitimate.

3 Responses to Wolcott Consumer Has Bone To Pick With Boost Mobile

justine on October 18, 2013 at 6:27 pm

I’m not surprised that sprint would treat a customer this way. I’ve been having issues with them for the past 10 months.. I’m in a contract so I can’t just up and leave, but for them to deny a refund is ridiculous. I’d keep fighting it, but then again, I’m stubborn, and 9 times out of 10 get what I want from them. Good luck should she continue to pursue this issue. I hope she gets her money back. Sprint is a joke lately

Hans H. Rennhard, DSc on October 27, 2013 at 5:45 pm

I always enjoy reading your column in the New London Day. In response to today’s story about Sprint, I wonder why Elaine Lewandosky, or you, for that matter, did not do the most obvious: Ask a Sprint official or one of their technicians to come to her house and convince himself! Wouldn’t you agree? Please comment….

George Gombossy on October 28, 2013 at 2:23 pm

What do you think the odds would have been that they would have come out to her home considering they refused to comment on the issue?